[Hanna]

I know December is still far away, but I was wondering if anyone thinking of giving a Chromebook to a loved one for the holidays! (Or for a birthday, I guess.) I was kind of thinking of buying one for my brother, as he's going to college next spring and he might like to have one for school.

 

[russcasey]

Be careful. Unless you know a lot about how your brother uses computers, you risk buying him a shiny paperweight. For me, a LOT of careful thought went into working out whether a chromebook would meet my needs, and the result was a very close call. It certainly isn't ready to replace my desktop, and if I was a student I'd probably prefer a big powerful laptop that could at the expense of some portability.


I guess the best advice is to talk to your brother about it.

 

[alee]

It also helps to know what his college recommends and supports, and what he is likely to use in his courses. A Chromebook would probably work if everything important that he needs is Web-based. Otherwise, it might be a good secondary computer that's easier to carry than a primary computer.

 

[batt_cell]

I think it is a good gift. It helps him immediately access to internet that most of things there. At least he can read news, contact friends, store many things in cloud, share things with friends, etc.

He can have another powerful desktop if he needs for his study.

My case, I want to buy one chromebook but I haven't done yet as it is hard to buy in Vietnam.

I now like to buy a Chromebook but seller offers nearly 600$ delivery to Vietnam for the Samsung wi-fi version while the original price is just 430$.
If anyone can help to buy in US and send to me in Vietnam. Thanks a lot.

 

[Jason]

I really think a Chromebook is a great purchase for anyone. As time goes on it will be even better. I find my 48 to be better then any Netbook I have own. I am a Power User and have a i5 Dell Laptop (which my wife now uses because I used my chromebook) and a desktop for gaming and video editing.

At work I have a desktop to do my programming with and admin work. I find that the Chromebook may not replace a Windows or Mac machine 5-10% of the time for most users. So if they have a desktop already..a chromebook is a great companion experience. Atleast until HTML and Native Client get better...

 

[Hanna]

He does have a desktop already that he's going to take with him, so really I just thought he might want a Chromebook for taking notes in class/something more portable. Thanks for the advice, everyone!

 

[alhanson]

If you brother is already using Google Docs, Picasa, Gmail, and Picnik – to name some: it would be great to get it for him for a gift. He would know how to use it right out of the box.